''Monkey Shines'' is a 1983 British

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...

novel by Michael Stewart. Its plot follows a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

man whose

service animal Various definitions exist for a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines the term as "dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities". Dogs are the most common service animals, havi ...

, a

capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...

named Ella, grows increasingly violent. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1988 by director

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

Premise

The novel follows Allan Mann, an

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

law student who becomes

after an accident, and is given a service monkey named Ella to help him with daily tasks. Ella, however, has been scientifically altered, and begins to channel Allan's inner fury, carrying out his most devious desires.

Critical response

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' deemed the novel "Uneven in tone, with neither the sparkle of

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

nor the involving seriousness of, say, Richard Setlowe's ''The Experiment''--but a lively, often intriguing smorgasbord of medical-ordeal, neuro-science, paranormal chills, and man/animal love-story."

References

External links

''Monkey Shines''
at

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1983 British novels 1983 science fiction novels 1980s horror novels British horror novels Disability literature Novels about animals British novels adapted into films Science fiction horror novels {{1980s-horror-novel-stub